


Handcuff Hijinks

by dr-habitual (Max_Mirphy)



Series: See No Evil Au [1]
Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Murder Mystery, See No Evil AU, Some Humor, habit did a murder but its fine, mention of crime but not detailed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23516197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Max_Mirphy/pseuds/dr-habitual
Summary: Based on kiingcorobo's See No Evil au over on tumblr!Habit is helping Detective Bora 'solve' a murder case, doing his best to (try) and distract the detective. Tim Tam helps out.
Relationships: Dr. Boris Habit & Tim Tam, Kamal Bora/Dr. Boris Habit
Series: See No Evil Au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022908
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	Handcuff Hijinks

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [See No Evil](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23475031) by Anonymous. 
  * Inspired by [Down By The River](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23488639) by [irlenolacroix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlenolacroix/pseuds/irlenolacroix). 



> yoo i never post my writing but i've been having a lot of fun with this Au! 
> 
> Go check out kiingcorobo on tumblr, his art rocks and his See No Evil Au tag is full of some good stuff !!! plus other really great fics that aren't on ao3!
> 
> Anyway habismal rights and also I've only watched Bones and i don't know anything about detectives.

“Did, ah- Did you really need to bring the puppet, Doc?”

Boris sent him a smile that his puppet seemed to mirror, both of their heads tipping to the side. Kamal was suddenly very focussed on the road.

“Eye think that it will help! The kidds at work seem to like it.” 

“W-Well if you think it’ll work, Doc-”

“You can call me Boris, Kamal! Eye- o I mean,  _ I _ ’ve told you before… It’s not fair if only one of us is on a ‘first name base-iss’, after all.”

“Um… okay.” 

He spared a glance in his partner’s direction. The ‘first name basis’ thing was a rather new development, and he was still having trouble adjusting… And not being incredibly flustered whenever the dentist happened to say his name. His voice was just… nice. deep with the hint of his apparantly russian background... Yeah. It was nice.  


Finding him staring out the window, a soft look on his face while he ran a hand through his puppet’s ‘hair’, he quickly changed the subject. He needed to at least  _ attempt _ to keep this professional. 

“So Doc- Er. Boris, you saw the description of the kid we’re lookin’ for, right?”

Boris hummed and nodded, keeping his gaze locked on the scenery passing by. “Ye-s. I read the report.”

He wasn’t nervous, not yet. So what if the park they were heading to was very close to both his apartment, and the scene of the crime. It didn’t mean it was  _ that _ park, and it certainly didn’t mean that the kid was  _ that _ kid, even if the description had been spot on… It didn’t mean Kamal would put two and two together either, even if the man was a brilliant detective, and super smart and… Well. He was trying to be an optimist about it. Think positive, like his therapist said! 

Though she’d never given him advice on lying to cute private detectives. Or the police. Or hiding bodies.

Not her area of expertise.

Out of the corner of his eye, Boris watched as Kamal squeezed the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He braked for a red light before speaking again. 

“O-kay, well, the legality of interviewing a kid without their parents is, uh- well it’s  _ legal  _ but it’s kinda- a shit thing to do. So! Um! So as long as we don’t-  _ technically  _ \- have them in custody then it’s just, uh, a conversation, uh- I mean we’ll ask where their parents are, of course! But the tip we got said they usually hang out at this park at the same time every day, and no one has any idea  _ where _ their parents might be, or where the kid is in the meantime- which is a whole ‘nother can of worms that I'll have to deal with too - and, uh-”

Kamal’s worrying stuttered to a halt when Boris put a hand on his arm. His face heated up so quickly he became light-headed. The man was looking at him, expression soft, a small smile on his face. Kamal couldn’t look away.

“Kamal.”

“U-Uh, yeah, big guy?”

“The light iz green.”

“Ah!” 

Kamal pressed down on the gas a little harder than necessary, jerking the car forward. He found himself glancing over at Boris’ demure expression when the man finally lifted his hand from his arm. His face heated up again, and he forced himself to keep his eyes on the road. He did not see it. Just watch the road, Bora. Be Professional. Don’t crash the car because the handsome man in your passenger seat is very touchy-feely, and it sometimes made him flustered, especially when he gave him  _ that _ look, and-!

“A-A- _Anyway_! What I’m trying to say is, uh, just be careful, since, uh, parents get fairly mad at adults interviewing their kids without, like, asking, even if it’s, uh ‘technically’ legal. It's sometimes a lot of... fuss.”

Boris hummed, looking at Kamal for longer than was perhaps appropriate. He turned his gaze back to their surroundings, trying to ignore the familiar street names whizzing by and the squirming in his belly. 

“We-ll then, Pabit can ask the questions… He is technically a ‘pup-it’, not an ad-ult.” He wiggled the puppet’s arms, giving it an air of excitement. It seemed to smile at Kamal and wave. “In ‘pup-it years’ he’s an ‘adult’, but we just won't ment-on that, yes?” He glanced to Kamal with a playful smile. "No fuss."  


A snort escaped Kamal before he could stop it, and soon enough it was a full-blown laugh. “Uh- sure, Boris.” Kamal’s grip on the steering wheel relaxed, and he sent his partner a small smile. “That’ll work. Thanks.”  It was always amazing how the tall, strange man managed to drag a laugh out of him, even when he was at his most anxious. Boris smiled back, turning his head so that Kamal wouldn’t see how easily it fell away. 

The rest of the ride was quiet, save for Kamal occasionally pointing out some landmark or store he recognized. He… liked to talk with Kamal. He adored whatever precious time he got to spend with his… ~~lily~~ friend. Especially when they  _ weren’t  _ talking about grisly murders and theories that, with every new iteration, seemed to be boxing Boris into a smaller and smaller corner. 

He didn’t know what he was going to do when that box became too small to escape. Right now, the thought of… Of  _ not  _ helping Kamal, not being around him, was nearly unbearable. He’d… he’d figure it out. He’d figure out what to do about all this later. Right now he just wanted to enjoy the time he had with Kamal, before it inevitably slipped away again.

* * *

His anxiety had been steadily rising during the drive, and he broke into a cold sweat as soon as Kamal announced they had arrived, parking in a faded, familiar parking lot. Kamal got out first, and Boris followed as quickly as he could, stuffing his shaking hands into his pockets. A semi-cool breeze blew his hair to the side, and he tucked his chin into his scarf with a shiver not entirely related.

Kamal whistled, looking around the empty parking lot. The actual playground was only a short walk through a dense wooded area. Located at the very edge of the forest, it wasn’t a very popular park, unless you liked lonely, early morning walks. 

Or hiding bodies in the woods.

“Kinda a dump!” Kamal joked, eyeing a discarded fast food bag as it blew across the parking lot. Trash had collected everywhere, tucked against the concrete barriers and in the bushes planted around the square of asphalt.

It was sad, seeing the edge of such a huge and beautiful forest clashing in such an ugly way with civilization. It was a little sadder though, knowing that there was a crime scene a few miles in the woods from here. 

He glanced to Boris, who’s eyes were focused on the dark, dense woods. He cleared his throat, grabbing his attention. “Anyway, it’s down this way, come on.”

Boris hummed in response, making sure Pabit was securely tucked into his coat before following. He knew that already. 

He knew that it was only a three-minute walk to the park from here. He knew the park was unkempt, weeds growing through the wood chips and concrete. He knew that the single lamp that leaned over the path didn’t work, and hadn’t for a long time. He knew about every hidden deer-trail they passed on their short walk there. He knew that one of the only two swings in the park was laying half on the ground, broken, and had been for a few weeks.

He also knew the kid sitting on the unbroken swing, kicking their legs and watching them approach with large eyes that betrayed nothing.

He was not a fan of swearing.

But…

Dang it.

Light footed, smiling in a ‘I'm nervous but really nice!’ way, Kamal waved and approached the swing set, hopping over the plastic barrier and into the wood chips. 

“Hi there! You wouldn’t be Tim Tam, would you?”

They were, but didn’t give any indication of that, nor did Boris. They stared up at Kamal when he stopped a few feet away. Boris hovered behind , approaching shyly and trying to hide without much success. He was a giant compared to the detective, who did not provide much surface area for hiding behind.

Tim Tam looked okay, at least. Boris could tell they were a bit healthier. Better than the last time he’d seen them. Their hair looked cleaner, and the way they were kicking their legs seemed happier. That was a good sign. He hadn’t been able to come visit as often as he’d like to. Not since… well. All of this. They did swing by his apartment for dinner occasionally, though, when they wouldn't be missed back 'home'. He never minded.

Tim Tam’s eyes drifted over to him for a terrifying second, hesitated, and then drifted back to Kamal. Boris released a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, blowing the hair on the back of Kamal’s neck and making him jump. He glanced back for a moment, face red, but quickly looked back to the kid, clearing his throat.

“We wanted to talk to you about something.”

They avoided eye contact for a few moments before looking back up, completely ignoring Boris. Kamal cleared his throat again.

“We. Uh. I’m a private detective, my name’s Kamal, and this is my fr-ah-  _ partner _ , Boris.” He held a hand up waving it nervously at Boris, who gave a small wave. Tim Tam looked at him with disinterest before looking back at Kamal. “We wanted to talk to you about something. We heard you like to wander ‘round in the woods which, uh,  _ not  _ safe but- it’s not about that, um. We were wondering if you’d heard or seen anything…  _ weird _ ?”

Kamal waited, voice leading and hopeful. Tim Tam stared at him, silent and inexpressive. Their eyes flicked from his face, to the badge clipped to his hip and then to the pair of cuffs clipped right next to it, shiny and new since Boris had broken the last pair. 

Kamal followed their gaze and carefully put a hand over them.

“Y-You’re not in trouble!” Kamal assured when they looked back up. “Something, uhm, bad happened nearby, and we’re just looking for clues! I  _ promise  _ you, you’re not in trouble.” He smiled. “I know, uh, it’s a little intimidating, but-”

“Not a snitch.” Tim Tam started to kick their feet back and forth, sending wood chips flying. They kept their eyes on the ground. “Bye.”

“Hha- I. Um!”

Boris cringed at the shocked look on Kamal’s face. The detective started to stutter, trying to collect himself, and Boris couldn’t watch. 

He knew better. He shouldn’t help. This wasn’t a good idea. 

But this was Kamal...

He put a hand on his shoulder for a moment, and Kamal went quiet. Boris crouched in front of Tim Tam, still too tall, but it was as small as he could get. He reached into his coat and carefully pulled out his puppet.

“Hell-o Tim Tam!” Pabit said. The puppet waved his little arms, and Tim Tam glanced at it. “My name is Pabit! We r sor-ee to b bothering you! Eye know you are ver-y busy! But it iz re-ally important! Wuld you like to b a de-tek-tiv with me fore a littol while?”

Tim Tam glanced at Boris briefly. Their expression changed, just slightly, Boris only noticing it from familiarity. The look was quick. Kamal didn’t notice it. 

They looked back down and focussed entirely on Pabit, giving nothing away. “No cops.”

“Nope!” Pabit chirped. “I ame just a seem-pull puppet slash detect-ive!” Boris smiled as Tim Tam slipped off of the swing. Pabit held out a little plush hand to them, and they took it, fiddling with it and avoiding eye contact. They seemed to enjoy the texture, and rubbed their thumb over his little puppet’s hand. “Eye heard you really like this park!” Tim Tam nodded. “Eye also heard that you may have b-een here a long time a-go, when it waz colder. Dew you re-member any-one wandering around then? Some-one yew…” He hesitated. “Someone yew didn’t kno?”

Tim Tam’s eyes flicked to Kamal when he crouched next to Habit. They relaxed when he politely focussed on the puppet instead, glancing between it and Habit’s concentrated and kind look. He’d never seen Boris actually  _ use _ the puppet before. His mouth wasn’t moving at all. He must do this a lot with the kids at his office… Or maybe it was a hobby. He’d have to remember to ask about it sometime.

They scooted a little closer, messing with the puppet’s hair. Kamal shifted aside, giving them room when they reached down for a handful of wood chips by his feet. They put them on top of the puppet’s little hat.

“Maybe... Yes.”

Kamal tried not to be too excited, making himself wait a minute before speaking up. He put a hand on Boris’ arm for balance and tried to mimic the puppet’s- er.  _ Boris’  _ friendly tone. “Would you be able to tell us about it? It would really help.” He smiled when the kid looked at him.

“Mm… Well...” They bent down to get more wood chips, this time just fiddling with a longer piece of wood. They looked at the puppet, and stepped forward, face serious. Tim Tam put a small hand on Boris’ arm and looked up, meeting his eyes. Kamal looked up, taking in Boris’ surprised expression.

There were two quick clicks, a jingle of keys, and suddenly Pabit was in Tim Tam’s arms, and they were smiling.

“Anarchy.” They said, and dashed away.

“H-Hey!” Boris stood quickly, reaching after his puppet, only to come jerking to a halt when Kamal came with him, yelping and hanging onto the cuffs with his free hand. He was swinging a few inches off of the ground, and Boris dropped his hand immediately, scared he might have hurt him. 

They were handcuffed together. Tim Tam had handcuffed them together. 

“W-Wait-!” Kamal stumbled, trying to keep his balance after finding himself suddenly on the ground again. “What-!?”

Tim Tam stopped by the edge of the park, setting Pabit down on a stump that had been smoothed out into a chair. 

“Bye Puppet-Man.” They waved and smiled.

Then they were gone, dashing down the path and out of sight.

“M-My keys-! Oh  _ shit _ !” Kamal felt at his pockets, slapping his hands down in the same spots over and over again, as if they would appear if he just repeated the action enough. “Oh shit, oh shit, how did they  _ do _ that-!? Oh,  _ shit _ !”

Boris was still trying to catch up. Hearing Kamal swear was a little disconcerting as well. He glanced from his handcuffed wrist to his puppet. Pabit was sitting almost politely on the stump, grinning at him. His little hands were folded in his lap, content, like everything had gone according to plan. 

Kamal’s frantic searching was tugging his trapped hand, occasionally making it bump against Kamal’s hip or side as he searched, voice getting higher and higher in his panic. Boris lifted his arm up, staring at the cuff and effectively stopping Kamal’s search  ~~ and the accidental brushes against his person .  ~~

“Oh.” He said, seeing that the cuffs were well and truly closed all the way, and definitely connected together. “That’s is not good.”

“You can break it right!?” Kamal’s voice cracked. Boris looked down at him, blinking slowly. “We need to go find them, they have the keys!”

Habit’s hands twitched, and he looked to his puppet for a moment before looking back at Kamal, awkwardly starting to smile.

“N-No…?”

Kamal’s face lost a lot of color in a very short amount of time. That couldn’t be good for him. “Wh- but you broke the  _ last  _ pair!”

“B-Brute force!” Habit was trying not to panic, stumbling over the lie for a second. “I-I wood-ent want to hurt you…” 

It was only a half-lie. He really didn’t want to hurt Kamal, ever, which he  _ could _ do. By accident, when breaking the cuffs… If he wasn’t careful, or too nervous. Which he was. His face felt very warm at least. 

“Y-You don’t have a spare… do you?” He asked.

Kamal made a noise identical to air being let out from a balloon. “ _ No, _ these- these are the new ones, the spare key hasn’t arrived yet- I just signed for them  _ today-  _ ohhhh shhhhh-ughh.” He held his hands to his face. Boris let his hand follow, holding it awkwardly near Kamal’s shoulder as the man groaned into his palms. “Oh this- oh my god Boss is gonna kill me. Ah’ can’t believe a freakin’  _ kid _ pulled that on me!” His city accent was slipping through, which Boris found cute.

He felt guilty, seeing Kamal so upset. Mostly he felt relieved, though. He’d have to thank Tim Tam the next time he saw them. Take them out for breakfast and check on how they were doing. They were a trouble maker, but a loyal one.

Maybe when… all  _ this  _ blew over. If it ever did.  


“Kamal, it is okay!” He set a hand on Kamal’s shoulder. The smaller man jumped, looking up at him. Boris managed to squeeze out a genuine smile. “May-be they are still nearby?” They probably weren’t. At least he hoped so. He really owed Tim Tam for this one. “Or they dropped the key some ‘where’?”

“Oh- Oh yeah! Okay!” Kamal brightened. He took a few hurried steps towards the path before being pulled to a stop by the immovable object that was Boris Habit. He tugged on the cuff a little, staring up at Boris. “C-Come on big guy. Work with me here,”

“Oh! Yes, sor-ee.”

* * *

It took a few tries to figure out what pace to walk at. Either Kamal would go too fast and be suddenly stopped, or Boris would walk normally, and make Kamal scramble to keep up. They had it  _ sort  _ of figured out by the time they reached the stump and retrieved Pabit. Boris tucked him carefully into his coat, hurrying up when he noticed Kamal’s nervous shifting from foot to foot.

They walked deeper into the woods, following the crumbling sidewalk as it slowly faded into a dirt path, and then mud. Boris tried to focus on how nice it was to walk with Kamal - despite how nervous the man was - and not how familiar the path was. 

It was nice, at least, to have their hands brush together every so often. Even nicer was the shade of red on Kamal’s cheeks every time it happened, and the way he would look away or cough awkwardly.  


They came to a fork in the path and stopped. Boris knew where both went, but made no attempt to mention that as Kamal sighed, pressing his free hand to his forehead. He looked between the two paths before looking up at Boris. 

“What now? I can’t tell which one they would have gone down.”

Frowning at Kamal’s disappointed tone, Habit stared at the right path for a moment. He knew it led up to the street again, out of the park. His eyes settled on the tip of a small yellow boot, barely visible between the branches of a bush. He pointed with his trapped hand, effectively gaining Kamal’s attention when it caused him to stumble.

“I think I see some footprints down the left path.”

Kamal regained his balance. “Yeah? Okay, good eye, let’s go that way.” Though nervously bouncing, definitely wanting to go faster, he walked in time with Boris as they headed down the path. Boris was careful not to glance back when he heard the squeak of a boot. Kamal didn’t notice it, too intent on staring at the muddy ground, looking for the footprint Boris had ‘seen’. Hopefully he could stall for long enough by taking Kamal down this path.

The path got muddier the longer they walked, and Kamal began to slow down, his dress shoes sinking into the mud and only very stubbornly coming loose. He huffed, pulling his foot free while Boris waited patiently. 

“How are you not getting stuck!” He glanced down at Boris’ shoes. They were clean, standing on solid ground, and- “Y- are you wearing  _ heels _ ?”

Boris looked down. “Ah, yes?” He looked back up, watching Kamal struggle. He carefully leaned forward, minding the mud, and grabbed the smaller man’s waist. Kamal squeaked as he was picked up and placed on drier ground. “There u go. Um, I didn’t know we would be ‘hike-ing’. Is that... okay?”

“Uh, I…” 

Boris’ hands were still on his waist. All of his brain power was being diverted to processing how warm his hands were. He’d picked him up like he’d weighed nothing. He almost could have done it with one hand. He knew Boris was a big guy, and tall people tended to have big hands, and be strong, ~~ and handsome ~~ but- he hadn’t really connected the dots about that until now. 

“Uh, uhm- hm- um. Hmm.”

“Kamal?” Boris noticed the placement of his hands. He let go of him quickly, and Kamal’s brain cells reconnected.

“No! Uh, no it’s fine I just- how?” Kamal gestured at the ground, keeping his face turned down so that Boris could not see that it was currently  _ on fire _ . “I… Do you wear them a lot? I haven’t noticed them before.”

Boris grinned. “Ye-as! I like how they sound.”

Kamal smiled a little, about to respond. The breath whizzed through his teeth when Boris carefully took his hand.

“I’ll lead the way, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt, Kamal.” The man looked down at him, gentle smile on his face.

“I- ah, oh… um, uh! T-Thanks, bud, ha… y-you don’t have to…” His grip tightened on Boris’ hand despite his words.

“No, it is okay! I garden a lot, so mud does not “bother” me.” He smiled wider, not quite lying, and the two of them started down the path again. 

Following behind him, Kamal found that Boris was very good at avoiding the muddy patches. Though he had no way of knowing that it was from familiarity, not luck. He was too focussed on how sweaty his hand was, and hoping that Boris would not notice.

The path only seemed to get worse, to the point that Boris suddenly stopped. 

Enough time had probably passed. Hopefully.

Kamal bumped into him, hurrying to take a step back. He looked down the rest of the path, seeing it turn into a muddy mess that only vanished further into the woods.

“I’m sorry, Kamal. I think we took the wrong path…” Boris’ hand loosened on Kamal’s a little, anticipating him tugging it away. 

Kamal held on tighter instead.

“Hey, it’s okay! I mean, it’s not, but it’s not your fault! Uh, I mean…” He waved his free hand, searching for words. “I… could not have seen how today would go, literally, uh, ever? Uh- at least the forest is nice?” He grinned. “And I mean, at least we know that Tim Tam probably knows something… That’s a start. We just have to find them again.”

Boris smiled back. “Yes, it is a nice place. We should come back when it is not so ‘muddy’.”

Kamal stuttered, only able to nod for a moment. “Uh! yeAH! Sure!” He coughed into his hand. “I mean, maybe. After the case. Yeah. Sure, yeah. It's a date- uh. I mean. It's a plan. Yeah."

Boris smiled before looking away. “Per-haps.”

* * *

They made their way back the way they had come, ignoring the other path and instead heading back towards the parking lot. They were nearly at the car when Kamal realized they were still holding hands.  He let go nervously, though not without regret.

They could see the car waiting in the parking lot from where they stood. Boris glanced down at him as he cleared his throat.

“Uh, quick question! Hooow, er. How good are you at driving?” Kamal gestured at their linked hands. “Because I’m on the wrong side to drive, unfortunately.”

Boris grimaced. “I do not have a lice-ence for driving, Kamal.”

“Oh.”

“In fakt, the person at the ‘dee-em-vee’ who gave me my "test" said they had not seen a driver so bad as me before.”

“Ah.”

“Ev-er.”

“I see.”

“Also youre car is very ‘small’, and I would not want to do something ill-e-gal while you are around.”

Kamal laughed, looking at the car with his hand held to his chin. Maybe if he went in first, and Boris put his arm over his shoulder- no. No way, that would be too distracting, and super unsafe, and, most importantly, he was fairly sure his gay little heart could not handle  _ that  _ on top of everything else that had happened today.

“Damn it.” He sighed.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Finally, not able to take the sad look on Kamal’s face any longer, Boris spoke up.

“There is, uh, a rest-raunt up the hill over there… We could, ‘get a coffee’, and wait for the bus, maybe?” He smiled hopefully at Kamal.

Kamal relaxed. “Yeah, actually. I could use a coffee after all this. Lead the way, bud.”

Boris nodded, starting to walk towards the sidewalk. He paused when Kamal grabbed his hand again, stopping to look down at him.

“Er, uh, your coat sleeve covers the cuffs… Um, if. If that’s okay, cus- if it’s not-!”

Kamal stopped talking when he saw Boris smile, a little blush showing up on his cheeks. “Is fine! No worries, Kamal.”

“Haha, great…”

* * *

They got their coffee. Well, Kamal got a coffee and Boris got hot chocolate, coffee being too bitter for him. It wasn’t terribly awkward, no one looking at them too much, or giving them any nasty looks. It probably helped that Kamal’s badge was on full display… and that Boris was a 7 foot tall man with an intimidating russian accent. Not that Kamal minded.  


They sat at the closest bus stop they could find, quietly sipping their drinks. Boris seemed calm, enjoying himself, even. Kamal, on the other hand, was nervously going over the day’s events, and starting to beat himself up over it.

Boris gently nudged him when he noticed Kamal’s legs bouncing. Kamal glanced at him, hesitated, and then sighed.

“I really messed up today, Doc.”

“No, you didn’t…”

Kamal shook his head. “I mean, I kind of did? No, I REALLY did. This is the first lead we’ve gotten since that thing with the double rows of teeth! And nothin’ showed up in the system for  _ that _ , like, at all, so this was the next best thing we had!” He squeezed his coffee cup, nearly making it overflow. “Like, we have  _ nothing _ , and I let the first lead we’ve got fuckin’- fucking  _ hoodwink  _ us!” His hand trembled, and he put his coffee down on the bench beside him. “God, I gotta be the worst detective ever… Plus I dragged  _ you _ into this! I’m sure you have something better to be doing than dealing with this stupid case or- with me... ”

Boris was silent, only speaking up up after some deliberation. “I  _ like _ spending time with you Kamal.” The shorter man glanced at him, and he blushed, fiddling with his cup. 

He should just  _ shut up _ , let Kamal give up, distract him, anything but this. But he couldn’t. He didn't want Kamal to be unhappy, ever. 

“I think you’re a wonderful detective… Youre are the one who went door two doors asking so many questions when you felt there was not enough 'info' from wit-nesses… and found out about Tim Tam… And I know you are con-cerned about them, because even  _ I _ could see they were… probably a run-away… I think it’s nice that you care about people you don’t have two… like the… um. ‘Victim’, and Tim Tam…”

He glanced up to see Kamal’s brown eyes locked on his face, looking somewhat watery. He smiled a little, reaching to hold his hand for a second, squeezing it.

“You are doing good, Kamal. Is only been a week, af-tor all. Dee-en-a isn’t even back yet, and you already have so many theories…”

Kamal tried to hide a sniffle, slurping his coffee instead. “Gee, Boris,  _ thanks _ .” He coughed, choking on his coffee a little. Boris would have patted his back if he wasn’t currently unable to at this angle. “Where’d that come from, anyway?”

“Well, you are my friend, Kamal. I don’t want you to ‘beat yourself up’ about this case…” Especially since it was all his fault anyway.

“Well… thanks, big guy… I appreciate it.”

“Your are welcome.” Boris smiled at him. “Oh! I sup-pose I should make sure I have my ‘bus pass’ on me. Please hold this.” He handed his cup over before reaching into his coat, feeling in his pockets. Ah, there it was, tucked behind Pabit. He pulled the puppet out, setting it on his lap.

There was a small clink, and both men froze, looking at the key that had landed on the sidewalk between them.

“Oh!" Boris' face split into a huge grin. "They must have put it in Pabit’s littol pockets! Look, Kamal!”

Kamal dropped both drinks, spilling them in his lap with a shout.

“Are you **_kidding_** me?”


End file.
